Windlass operating and releasing means.



C. W. SP-ENCER.. WINDLASS OPERATING AND RELEASING MEANS. APPLlCATlON FILED FEB. 27. I917.

- Patented Aug 7; 19172 i 6. W (5pc Vice 7';

CHARLES W. SPENCER, ST. HELENS,

OREGON.

\VINDLASS OPERATING AND BELEASING MEANS.

1,2sa22e.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. *7, 1917.

Application filed February 27, 1917. Serial No. 151,208.

To all whom it may concern:

B it k w th t 1, CHARLES WV. SPENCER, a native-born citizen of the United States, residing at St. Helens, in the county of Columbia and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Windlass Operating and Releasing Means; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven tion, such. as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. l

My invention relates more particularly to means for operating the windlasses upon which the brake applying chains of logging cars and the like are wound, and the object is to provide a simple and eflicient arrangement of parts for winding the windlass and for quickly disconnecting it from its operating means to release the brakes without causing the rotation of the drum or Windlass to swing the operating handle in the manner which often injures the at tendants.

lVith the foregoing object in view, the invention resides in the novel features of construction and unique combinations of parts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawing which constitutes a part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of the improved operating and releasing means applied to one end of a car;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the bearing plates which support the Windlass; and

Fig. 1 is a similar view of a portion of the operating lever.

In the drawing above briefly described, a portion of a car C is shown, said car having the usual brake applying chain B which is to be wound upon a Windlass mounted on one end of the car. The windlass is shown in the form of a short horizontal shaft 1 extending transversely of the car and rotatably mounted in a pair of parallel vertical plates 2 and 3 preferably joined integrally at their upper ends by a connecting plate 4- bolted or otherwise secured to the car. It will be understood, however, that the windlass may be of any preferred type although equipped with a ratchet wheel 5 cases project cooperates with the teeth 6, the inner side of said lever being shaped to form dogs 10 for engagement with said teeth.

As shown in the drawing, the lever 9 is preferably provided adjacent one end with a bearing 11 loosely receiving the shaft 1 so that said lever is free to oscillate around said shaft. A coiled spring 12 surrounds the projecting end of said shaft and bears at its outer end against a collar 13, the tension of said spring being thus exerted to yieldably hold the lever in such position as to maintain the dogs 10 in operative engagement with the teeth 6. By this arrangement, movement of the lever 9 in one direction will turn the shaft or Windlass l to wind the chain B thereon, whereas the lever may swing in the opposite direction independently of the ratchet 5, due to the provision of the spring 12, it being obvious that the dog 8 will prevent retrograde movement of the ratchet by engagement with its locking teeth 7.

A pair of cams 14: are cast upon the outer face of the plate 2 or otherwise secured thereto for shifting the lever 9 outwardly to disengage the dogs 10 from the ratchet when said lever is moved downwardly to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and one end of said lever carries another cam 15 adapted to strike and disengage the dog 8 immediately after said lever has been forced to the required amount. The result is that the windlass is thus freed by a single movement of the lever 9 and may thus readily rotate to release the brakes of the car. It will be observed that turning of the Windlass in this manner will not produce any sudden movement or in fact any movement of the lever 9, and thus there is no danger of the attendant being injured as now often occurs when releasing the brakes of cars upon which the brake Windlass is provided with an operat ing handle which rotates bodily therewith in both directions.

The arrangement of cams let adjacent diametrically opposite points of the ratchet 5 is preferable since both ends of the lever are simultaneously moved outwardly and thus binding of the bearing 11 on the shaft 1 is prevented. It will be understood, however, that the cams in question might in some cases be otherwise arranged and yet obtain practically the same result. Also, one of said cams is by preference equipped with a stop 16 to limit the downward movement of the lever 9, but here again it will be understood that other means could well be employed to prevent said lever from swinging an undesirable amount. In addition to the changes suggested, I wish to state that although the construction shown is preferable on account of its high e'l'liciency, numerous minor features of construction may be varied as occasion may demand within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. The combination with a rotatable member; of a ratchet operatively connected therewith, a lever mounted for oscillation on an axis alined with that of the ratchet and having a dog operatively engaging said ratchet for turning the same, said lever and dog being movable bodily outward from said ratchet, an additional dog for preventing retrograde movement of the ratchet, and means for automatically shifting said lever and its dog outwardly to disengage the latter from the ratchet when said lever is moved to a predetermined position, said lever then serving to automatically release said additional dog.

2. The combination with a rotatable member; of a ratchet operatively connected therewith and having ratchet teeth on its outer face and locking teeth on its periphery, a locking dog cooperating with said locking teeth to prevent retrograde movement of said ratchet, a lever fulcrumed for oscillamo on an axis in line with that of the ratchet, said lever having on one side a dog carried rigidly thereby and ope 'atively coacting with said ratchet teeth, a spring for permitting said lever to yield outwardly away from the ratchet teeth but for nornlally holding it in operative relation there with, and a cam adjacent the periphery of the ratchet for throwing said lever outwardly to disengage said dog from said ratchet when said lever is moved to a predetermined position, said lever having means for then disengaging said locking dog from the ratchet.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES w. srnnonn.

Witnesses W. A. T'TARRIS, M. E. MILLER.

Copies or this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

